Resolve and Rescue: The True Story of Frances Drake and the Antislavery Movement - Sunday's Book Club, August 28th.

Updated date - Sunday's Book Club, August 28th !
Elizabeth  Raymond will be hostessing!
Our next meeting is ............................. Sunday, August 28th, 7pm
Our next hostess is ...........................Elizabeth Raymond,
72 Olde Tavern Rd.

Resolve and Rescue; The true story of Francis Drake and the antisalvery movement" by Mark Bodanza

Also if enough of us read Kelly Bell's summer selection ........"The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve

Resolve and Rescue: The True Story of Frances Drake and the Antislavery Movement 

Where Frances Drake saw injustice, she tried to right it, and where freedom was denied, she fought to secure it. In Resolve and Rescue, author and historian Mark C. Bodanza explores the life of this Massachusetts woman who took up the cause of the slave early in the antislavery movement. He shows how, in an age dominated by men, Drake never allowed the disadvantages suffered by her gender to impede the great object of her work, the end of slavery in America. Resolve and Rescue narrates the story of this woman, born in 1814, who had an uncommon energy. She toiled for more than two decades to end slavery in ways great and small, including the promotion of some of the greatest speakers of the abolition movement. Her efforts were not limited to speeches or theory, but she publicly participated in the rescue of many fugitive slaves, including the first test case in New England under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850; Bodanza also demonstrates that her fight wasn't limited to ending slavery, as she worked tirelessly for racial equality and women's rights. Resolve and Rescue shares the life story of Frances

Next Book Club - May 22nd / Hostess Kelly Bell
More local information-  Leominster's Southeast School renamed for abolitionist Drake
"Drake was a Leominster abolitionist who, according to City Councilor Mark Bodanza, speaking in support of the name change, accomplished the most "significant historic act ever on Leominster soil." The home Drake and her husband, Jonathan, owned was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and one refugee they helped on his journey to freedom was Shadrach Minkins. He was captured by federal marshals after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. His subsequent rescue from a Boston courtroom by a crowd of black men who then sent him to freedom on the Underground Railroad led him to the Drakes' home.

"We'll revive her as part of the general legacy and past of Leominster. The naming of this school will rebuild what we've lost. This is a piece of our past that we need to revive," said Bodanza, who, during his presentation held up a small beaded purse Minkins sent to Drake after he found his freedom in Canada.

"It's something we can be proud of, not only because of the important history involved in it, but because of the moral lesson that this lady will give to our children and to all of our citizens for a number of years," Bodanza said."

The Pocket Wife : a novel by Susan Crawford

Our next meeting is ............................. Sunday, April 10th 2016 *updated Change!
Our next hostess is   ............................Lou Ann Arquilla, 35 Kendall Hill Rd.
Our next Book Club selection......." The Pocket Wife : a novel " by Susan Crawford

The Pocket Wife : a novel " by Susan Crawford

An amazing talent makes her debut with this stylish psychological thriller—with the compelling intrigue of The Silent Wife and Turn of Mind and the white-knuckle pacing of Before I Go to Sleep—in which a woman suffering from bipolar disorder cannot remember if she murdered her friend during a breakdown.

Dana Catrell is horrified to learn she was the last person to see her neighbor Celia alive. Suffering from a devastating mania, a result of her bipolar disorder, Dana finds that there are troubling holes in her memory, including what happened on the afternoon of Celia's death. As evidence starts to point in her direction, Dana struggles to clear her name before her own demons win out.

Is murder on her mind—or is it all in her head?

The closer she comes to piecing together shards of her broken memory, the more Dana falls apart. Is there a murderer lurking inside her... or is there one out there in the shadows of reality, waiting to strike again? A story of marriage, murder and madness, The Pocket Wife explores the world through the foggy lens of a woman on the edge.

SPRING 2016:
April 10th...........Lou Ann Arquilla
May 22nd ............Kelly Bell

Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber - Date: Sunday, January 24th 2016

Next book club, - Rose Harbor in Bloom; Debbie Macomber
Hosted by Joanne Smith.
Date: Sunday, January 24th 2016 (updated!)

 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Hailed as “the reigning queen of women’s fiction” (The Sacramento Bee), Debbie Macomber is renowned for her novels of love, friendship, and the promise of fresh starts. Now Macomber returns to the charming Rose Harbor Inn, where each guest finds a second chance and every room comes with an inspiring new view.

 Since moving to Cedar Cove, Jo Marie Rose has truly started to feel at home, and her neighbors have become her closest friends. Now it’s springtime, and Jo Marie is eager to finish the most recent addition to her inn. In memory of her late husband, Paul, she has designed a beautiful rose garden for the property and enlisted handyman Mark Taylor to help realize it. She and Mark don’t always see eye-to-eye—and at times he seems far removed—yet deep down, Jo Marie finds great comfort in his company. And while she still seeks a sense of closure, she welcomes her latest guests, who are on their own healing journeys.

 Annie Newton arrives in town to orchestrate her grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. While Annie is excited for the festivities, she’s struggling to move on from her broken engagement, and her grandparents themselves seem to be having trouble getting along. Worse, Annie is forced to see Oliver Sutton, with whom she grew up and who has always mercilessly teased her. But the best parties end with a surprise, and Annie is in for the biggest one of all.

 High-powered businesswoman Mary Smith, another Rose Harbor Inn guest, has achieved incredible success in her field, yet serious illness has led her to face her sole, lingering regret. Almost nineteen years ago, she ended her relationship with her true love, George Hudson, and now she’s returned to Cedar Cove to make amends.

Compassion and joy await Jo Marie, Annie, and Mary as they make peace with their pasts and look boldly toward their futures. Rose Harbor in Bloom is Debbie Macomber at her heartwarming best.

Spring 2016 !!!

- March  27th

- May 22nd or June  5th

The Inn at Rose Harbor: A novel by Debbie Macomber Nov. 22nd 2015

The Inn at Rose Harbor:  A novel by Debbie Macomber
Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a fresh start. A young widow coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. Jo Marie’s other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories. And as Abby and Joshua try to heal from their pasts, and Jo Marie dreams of the possibilities before her, they all realize that life moves in only one direction—forward.

Praise for Debbie Macomber and The Inn at Rose Harbor review


Next Book Club ......  November 22nd - ..Sylvia Pepin

Go Set a Watchman : A Novel" by Harper Lee - September - Sunday, September 27th

Update: Due to busy schedules we have reduced the number of meetings and hope more people will be able to find the time to read and join us to discuss our books.

Our next meeting is ............................. Sunday, September 27th, - 7pm
Our next hostess is   ............................Kathy LeBlanc
Our next Book Club selection......." Go Set a Watchman : A Novel"  by Harper Lee

From Harper Lee comes a landmark new novel set two decades after her beloved Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one's own conscience.

Written in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman imparts a fuller, richer understanding and appreciation of Harper Lee. Here is an unforgettable novel of wisdom, humanity, passion, humor, and effortless precision—a profoundly affecting work of art that is both wonderfully evocative of another era and relevant to our own times. It not only confirms the enduring brilliance of To Kill a Mockingbird, but also serves as its essential companion, adding depth, context, and new meaning to an American classic.

Next Book Club,... 

November 22nd - ..Sylvia Pepin --- Book to be announced

Winter/ Spring 2016
- January  31st
- March  27th

- May 22nd or June 5th 

The Rosie Project " by Graeme Simsion June 28th

Upcoming book club ...

Our next meeting is ............................. Sunday, June 28th 

Our next hostess is   ............................Penny Munsey

Our next Book Club selection......." The Rosie Project " by Graeme Simsion  

The Rosie Project " by Graeme Simsion -  THE ART OF LOVE IS NEVER A SCIENCE MEET DON TILLMAN, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers. Rosie Jarman is all these things. She also is strangely beguiling, fiery, and intelligent. And while Don quickly disqualifies her as a candidate for the Wife Project, as a DNA expert Don is particularly suited to help Rosie on her own quest: identifying her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on the Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you. Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion’s distinctive debut will resonate with anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of great challenges. The Rosie Project is a rare find: a book that restores our optimism in the power of human connection.


Other news ....To be finalized  - See email from Laurie

July and August will be a pass.

Fall of 2015,... will have only two meetings.

September 27th

November / December 6th

This is a brief look at the spring as far as months go.

Spring 2016 ( I have not looked up the dates yet )

January

March

May

If you like this idea and how it will work see Laurie's email and we can discuss at out June meeting!

Other topics discussed ....
checkout Sequel - Go Set a Watchman
Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Is to Publish a Second Novel
A few years ago we read To Kill A Mocking Bird By Harper Lee
For more than half a century, “To Kill a Mockingbird” has stood apart as a singular American literary masterpiece, a perennial best seller that has provoked countless classroom discussions about racial and social injustice. It brought instant and overwhelming fame to its enigmatic author, Harper Lee, who soon retreated from the spotlight to her native Monroeville, Ala. She never published another book, leaving her millions of fans yearning for more. Now, at age 88, Ms. Lee has revealed that she wrote another novel after all — a sequel of sorts to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” featuring an aging Atticus Finch and his grown daughter, Scout. Continue reading the main story RELATED IN OPINION Harper LeeOp-Ed Contributor: Don’t Do It, Harper Lee
FEB. 5, 2015 On Tuesday, Ms. Lee’s publisher announced its plans to release that novel, recently rediscovered, which Ms. Lee completed in the mid-1950s, before she wrote “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

The 304-page book, “Go Set a Watchman,” takes place 20 years later in the same fictional town, Maycomb, Ala., and unfolds as Jean Louise Finch, or Scout, the feisty child heroine of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” returns to visit her father. The novel, which is scheduled for release this July, tackles the racial tensions brewing in the South in the 1950s and delves into the complex relationship between father and daughter. Although written first, “Go Set a Watchman” is a continuation of the same story, with overlapping themes and characters. But Ms. Lee abandoned the manuscript after her editor, who was captivated by the flashbacks to Scout’s childhood, told her to write a new book from the young heroine’s perspective and to set it during her childhood.  More details here .

Winter People " by Jennifer McMahon

"Winter People  " by Jennifer McMahon  
A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter.

Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she’s not the only person looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Our next Book Club selection....... "Winter People " by Jennifer McMahon "
Our next meeting is ........... Sunday, May 31st , 7p.m.
Our next hostess is   ............................Paula Mansour   - TBD